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Social Media [2011]

A presentation for the Distance Forum at the University of Otago. This is has been slightly modified from an original presentation delivered to the staff of the University's Health Sciences Library in September 2011.

17 Nov 2011 15-20minsThe Health Sciences Library (Medical and Dental) currently have a website - but we can&apos;t communicate with it. It&apos;s a one way street relying on updating by a third party. This is what could be termed web 1.0 – a didactic web, a broadcasting tool.Web 2.0 is the Internet we can interact with, it’s social. It’s a place where conversation happens and relationships are developed.So how can we get timely info to our students electronically?How do we engage with them on a personal level if they don’t come into the library?I want to have a chat about social media and how I think as a library, we could get involved in these socials spaces.I want to give you a bit of background about a few different social media spaces and reasons why I think we should be present in them.I want to show you some ideas I’ve been piloting.

Who am I?My social media story.I’ve been engaged with social media for many years and was an early adopter of FB and Twitter. IM served us well during the London Bombings and Twitter during the CHCH earthquake. In between I’ve been using Facebook to connect with students and alumni about their experiences living in named student flats, as well as stay in touch with family, friends and to network within my profession and wider interests.For me FB is about friends and family. Twitter largely about networking for my profession and interests. Some tweeps have become IRL friends and FB friends. Many of them are on campus here at Otago. What I’m interested in is how to make this leap for our students.

Our staff and students are using all kinds of social spaces and media to communicate within.They don’t just hang out and chat in these spaces, they are research spaces, study spaces and information gathering spaces.As purveyors of informationary goodness, shouldn’t we be available to them in those spaces too? This is another opportunity to provide “point of need” service.Injection of fun – well we are learning, why not make it fun, easy to participate and break down some potential social barriers (location, anxiety)?Fundamentally, this is another mode of communication and should be considered in that context.

Some good examples to check out are National Library and particularly Christchurch Public Library (who operates in a multiplicity of spaces).

Uptake to Facebook has sky rocketed. This is no longer a beta product, it’s been around, in circulation for over 7 years.

Here’s what I posted on the School of Pharmacy wall yesterday.The great thing about communicating in this space is that there’s a captive audience – anything posted here should show up on their individual ‘wall’. That means I’ve just told all of the people who ‘like’ the School of Pharmacy that I’ve updated the Pharmacy subject guide.

See how WML are using FB. They mention their services, resources, trials, news (library and community).They use Twitter – can see the wee bird, indicates how that piece of info arrived in FB Their policy is transparent and available to view through the INFO tab.

And this is what Milton (from WML) has to say about it.Note the difference in information uptake by different media users, i.e. different demographics.

An example of one of our PhD students, Osman Ahmed (Physio) who is using FB as a research intervention tool to create a community for students with recent concussion. He and I met through Twitter at The University of Otago Twitter Conference [#OUTwecon] and since then have met up for a chat, exchanged info and emails.

Here’s the current Twitter feed for @HealthSciLib.Note the Bio statement, moderator, etc.

This provides an example of how has mentioned us and in what context.

The important thing to appreciate is that we will never reach everyone.Not everyone has a TV or a mobile phone not does everyone visit the library or have a Facebook account.While there is some cross over between social media types, in most cases there are different demographics of users, esp between FB and Twitter.Think about HOW often you are going to engage … don’t want to spamming people

Gives you an idea of market share of companies using social media.Put catalyst data in here too

Social networks have rules just like any other communication forum.

Here’s a collection of links to presentations and websites that provide some up to date data and information about the use of Social Media tools in libraries. This is by no means an exhaustive list. There is a plethora of information out there!

Social Media [2011]

3.
Opportunity• This is another living space• Staff / students can opt in• It’s about showing that we know about this stuff• We should be there if they need us• It’s about bringing people together across distance• Injection of fun14/11/2011 Sarah Gallagher

4.
What do we need to consider?Purpose:To actively engage with students and staff ofHealth Sciences in social spaces online.Goals:• Build relationships with people who may not otherwise engage with the library (e.g. Distance students, mature students …).• Engage with people around campus, and the world, that we currently have relationships with.• Use this as a means of marketing/promoting our resources and services.• Use these tools and spaces as a means of up-skilling staff (library, academic and general).14/11/2011 Sarah Gallagher

5.
But, what do we say?• What do they need to know?• What do we want them to know?• What have we got that they need (resources and services)• Does HOW we get this message across REALLY MATTER?• What’s important is WHAT we say and HOW we say it.14/11/2011 Sarah Gallagher

11.
What WML have to say about FB• We certainly get a better student:librarian ratio of followers on Facebook than on Twitter.• While we get the odd piece of feedback we don’t get a whole lot.• One interesting thing to note is when we post a link to something specifically WML related, like the newsletter or databases, we get more clicks from Facebook than from Twitter.Source : Email from Milton Lee 07.09.1114/11/2011 Sarah Gallagher

18.
Netiquette• Be mindful of your online reputation• Be polite and respectful• Be warm and engaging (write with a smile)• If you make a mistake, apologies as soon as you can• Keep your discussion and links to information on topic• Before your RT or pass on information, check it / evaluate it14/11/2011 Sarah Gallagher